At First Glance
by Blizzard96
Summary: Oneshot. Homestuck characters are training for the Hunger Games and Karkat observes the competition. Just an idea that wouldn't leave me alone... T because I'm paranoid.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Homestuck or the Hunger Games.**

"Will all tributes please report to the training room for scheduled exercises? The instructors are waiting. Thank you," the tinny voice boomed. Karkat rolled his eyes before giving the speaker in his room the finger. He dropped the TV remote and cast one last wistful glance at the rom com playing on the television before shuffling out the door.

His face set in a scowl, Karkat trudged down the illuminated hallways. The air smelled abnormal compared to his home district. Not that he'd ever admit it, Karkat really missed District 12. At least the people at home weren't complete and utter jerks like some of the tributes he'd met.

The training room's door slid open and Karkat saw that he was probably the last one to arrive, not that he cared. He meandered over to where his fellow district tribute was already hard at work trying to start a fire. She gave him a weak smile that told Karkat all her earlier attempts had not been successful. Karkat nodded and turned to look around at the other tributes.

District 1: Luxury

Dirk was sweating bullets as he went through motion after motion with his katana. Despite his repeated slashing and flash stepping, he managed to keep his face devoid of emotion. Of course, he realized that the chances were slim to none of actually being able to use a katana in the Games. The sword would cost a fortune even though he would have sponsors lined down the block to support him.

Roxy had no such problems, preferring to study what the poisonous plants were. ('Most likely seeing if any of them could get her high,' Dirk thought sarcastically.) Roxy had been drinking heavily since the beginning of the games, hoping that one day she would wake up and see it had all been a dream. Her instructor had managed to get her to agree not to bring any alcohol to training, but that was about the only time she didn't have a bottle in her hands.

Karkat rolled his eyes. The two tributes had pissed him off from day one. The guy had his hair ridiculously spiked and refused to remove his eccentric sunglasses. The girl had dressed in the latest fashion and looked like she had never had a day of hard labor in her entire life.

'Spoiled rich brats,' Karkat thought bitterly.

District 2: Masonry

Gamzee had been surprised to hear his name get called, but that never showed on his face. He was stoned out of his mind most of the time anyways, and the ever present face paint helped to hide his feelings. Back home, Gamzee had always used a hammer to help shape metals at the workshops, but he found that he was also proficient with any improvised club. The instructors were impressed by how strong he was, but Gamzee really didn't care about winning. He really didn't care about anything if he was being honest.

Gamzee had forgotten the other tribute's name, and that was just fine with her. She insisted that everyone call her Scratch anyways. Despite looking frail, especially from spending all day in a workshop and not out in the sun, she could take a surprising number of hits and had a knack for predicting attacks. She was gaining quite a few sponsors because of her uncanny ability to keep tabs on all her opponents at once.

District 3: Technology

Sollux groaned as he made his way through the training room. He couldn't use a weapon to save his life. He'd been one of the best back home, extremely talented at all things digital. In fact, he had been slated to be a Game designer one day. But after his name had been called, he'd resigned himself to death. There was no way he was going to beat all these other kids. Hell, two of the other tributes looked like they could kick ass with katanas. Sollux would've given anything to just be at home with his computer rather than with these insane tributes.

Vriska smirked at her wimpy district partner. How pathetic. The Games hadn't even started and the teen had already decided he was going to lose. Vriska happily remembered her life back home, building robot parts for enhancing limbs, and that was why she was going to win these stupid Hunger Games and go home a hero. Then no one would ever laugh at her robot arm again. In fact, she would have clients all across the districts. Vriska grinned evilly just thinking about it.

Karkat let out an involuntary shiver watching the one eyed girl smirk. He decided to focus on the male tribute instead. The boy had glasses with red and blue lenses and was intently muttering to himself as he reprogrammed one of the training machines to attack the boy with the katana. The other tribute easily slashed the robot in half and turned to glare at the District 3 tribute. The teen, Sollux, stared blankly back, still muttering to himself.

District 4: Fishing

Eridan grinned widely, firing his beloved laser into a target. Of course, it didn't stand a chance against the gun he'd designed and built himself. The Game designers would never let him take it in, but it was certainly fun to play with. His instructor tapped him on the shoulder, making Eridan sigh and drop his weapon. He glumly trudged over to a weapons rack to find something he would be allowed to use in the Game. He finally settled on a hunting spear, launching it with deadly accuracy to the heart of the target.

All the other tributes stopped for a split second to stare at the scrawny looking tribute from District 4. Eridan frowned. "Wwhat?"

Feferi giggled and shook her head. She'd grown up with Eridan and knew that, despite his appearance, the other teen was very precise when it came to hunting. He'd had years of practice back home on the docks, using a spear every day to fish. Feferi turned back to her target and leveled her trident at it before tossing the trident in a graceful arc before it impaled the target through its head. Ever since she'd watched the Hunger Games a few years ago and saw a tribute use a trident as a weapon, she'd diligently trained herself to use a trident to fish. Whoever would've known all that work would actually pay off?

Karkat gulped nervously at District 4's unintentional showing off. They were definitely a duo to watch for. The District 12 tribute spared a glance to their impaled targets. 'Whatever you do,' he mentally noted, 'Don't go near them when they have spears.'

District 5: Power

Dave adjusted his shades and kept his face completely blank because that's what cool kids did. Though he'd never say it out loud, he was impressed with the District 1's male tribute and their totally awesome blade skills. The other kid was so good, it was almost scary. Dave pressed himself to train harder and slashed mercilessly at the practice dummy. There was no way he'd lose.

Rose allowed herself a small smile as she watched her partner attack the dummy with new vengeance. They had been neighbors for as long as she could remember. In fact, she usually served as a makeshift therapist for Dave whenever he had problems. When his eyes had been damaged by an accident at the power plant, Rose had suggested some shades to help with his new sensitivity to light. At the training room, Rose's instructor had quickly found that she excelled in using thin, light weight weapons used for stabbing. She'd received some type of needles that she was currently training with.

District 6: Transportation

Equius had been irritated to have his name called. He had been developing ideas for a new system of transportation only to be suddenly ripped away from it by the stupid Games. He was far more interested in building robots and cars than fighting. However, he felt he had a duty to his District to compete and so he'd packed up his belongings (including quite a few towels) and left with the other tribute. He'd quickly told his instructor that he preferred to use a bow and arrow, but the man had insisted that Equius ditch weapons all together due to his abnormal strength. Equius gritted his teeth, but he'd never in his life disobeyed an order.

Aradia drifted around the training room quietly. She (much like Sollux) had accepted the fact that she would probably die in the Game. She gave a halfhearted effort in all the exercises, preferring to focus on learning basic survival skills rather than how to fight.

District 7: Lumber

Kanaya picked up her chainsaw and charged the mannequin, ripping it in half and sending its stuffing flying everywhere. She'd helped her father cut down trees at home and she'd reasoned that humans weren't that much different. Kanaya glanced at the male tribute with pity etched across her face. When the kid, no older than 12, had been chosen, he'd basically been handed a death sentence. Because of that, the boy had gone crazy. He'd refused to participate in training and instead sat in a corner, eyes darting around, while muttering and laughing to himself. Kanaya stooped down next to the kid who flinched, but didn't make any attempt to move away. She had been the only one the kid had allowed to talk to him besides that male tribute from District 1.

"Are you okay?" Kanaya asked in her best motherly voice.

"Hee hee hee! We're all gonna die!" the kid said in an unhinged sing song voice. Kanaya sighed, used to that responsed. She ruffled the kid's hair.

"Don't worry Cal. You'll get through it," she said, getting up and grabbing her chainsaw.

Cal grinned at her retreating back. "We're all dead~" he sang. "I'm dead, you're dead…"

District 8: Textiles

Terezi grinned as she made a beeline towards the painting and camouflage station to smell all the pretty colors. Unfortunately, most of them tasted disgusting, but occasionally she found a bottle of green apple or purple grape. This time, she found a delicious blueberry paint sitting on the table and sniffed it heartily before squirting some on her finger and tasting it. She grinned again, showing off sharp teeth, before pulling her token out of her pocket, a square of red cloth. In her District, Terezi had been ecstatic as different patterns, colors and fabrics were everywhere in the textile factory. Going to work had been a buffet for her nose. Through training, Terezi favored tracking, camouflaging and night training, though she was good with swords and sticks as weapons.

The male tribute was name Westley Valiant, but Terezi had laughed at that and decided to call him WV instead. She'd complained that his name was too long. WV had taken a liking to wrapping himself in cloth back home so he'd looked like a mummy, but in training it was shown that he was good at using branches, mud or just about anything as camouflage. One weakness of his was for anything shiny and he was too curious for his own good. Terezi cackled that it was going to get him killed one day.

Karkat had found these two to be wild cards of the tributes. They were goofy and eccentric, but when they hid themselves, they were flawless. Also, the girl didn't rely on her eyes and that would be a huge advantage when it was night time. The scariest part was that you would probably never see them coming.

District 9: Grain

John took a deep breath before trying another weapon…only to fail miserably. His instructor looked like he was on the verge of tears while John just grinned sheepishly. Back home, the only thing he was good at was magic tricks to entertain his neighbor's kids and pulling pranks around town. His instructor buried his face in the palm of his hand before motioning John to try the last weapon, a ridiculously large hammer. John picked up the weapon skeptically before swinging it with all his might and annihilating the target. His instructor's head shot up in disbelief before he burst into tears knowing that at least the buck toothed kid wouldn't go down without a fight.

Jade had enjoyed growing grain back home and harvesting it, so she was sad to leave for the Game. Her favorite training exercise had quickly become identifying poisonous plants and scavenging for berries. Even though she never wanted to fight the other tributes, aiming for the strategy of simply surviving the longest, her instructor had found she was good with all types of guns and pushed her to demonstrate her ability to gain sponsors. Jade did so with a heavy heart, wanting nothing more than to be back home with her dog, Becquerel.

District 10: Livestock

Tavros attempted to run forward with his jousting lance, only to fall flat on his face. He sighed and got back up, cursing himself for being so clumsy. While herding the bulls one day back in his District, he'd gotten trampled. Though he had mostly recovered, his legs were still weak and barely supported his weight. Tavros was really worried about the other tributes. Most of them were stronger than him, not to mention that creepy chick from District 3 looked like she wanted to maim him. The tribute got to his feet and tried again to run the dummy through, this time with more success.

Nepeta squealed happily as she used the paint to draw fur on her hands. Her instructor frowned, grumbling that she should attempt to camouflage herself into the rock, but she just ignored him. Back home, she'd liked working with the animals and even saved some of their fur as clothing that she wore all the time. At the moment, she had the fur of a fox covering her head while she'd sewn a wolf's tail to her pants, making her look like some kind of hybrid. Nepeta only wanted to win the Hunger Games so she could return home to the animals.

District 11: Agriculture

Jane mixed up the concoction she had made from crushed berries, water and various plants. She didn't want to use violence in the games (despite being skilled with knives) and wanted to simply survive until the end. Back home, her family had run a bakery and Jane had always enjoyed making pastries, especially cakes. Her name being called had sent her parents into tears and, with a heavy heart, Jane had decided to win without hurting anyone.

Jake had been a fine farmer in District 11, preferring to grow pumpkins over all other crops. In his spare time, he'd trained himself to use guns (despite them being illegal) and could hit almost any target. He'd decided that the Hunger Games were a stupid waste of time and barely tried in the exercises. Certainly he would fight tooth and nail in the arena, but for now he was focused on behaving like a proper gentleman. And looking for adventure. He was always looking for an adventure.

District 12: Mining

Karkat finally came full circle back to his own District. He was scared. There, he said it. Karkat Vantas, the kid who pretended that nothing intimidated him, was scared out of his mind. The other tributes all looked like they could kick his butt into next week (well, except maybe Cal, WV and that Egbert kid) and he didn't want to fight. Karkat looked down at his skin, stained a permanent gray from working in the mines all day. The girl's skin also had a grayish hue, though it was less pronounced. Karkat sighed and ran a hand through his dark black hair before picking up a pair of provided twin sickles and hacking into the training dummy.

The girl was named Predea Magnus, but when Karkat had tried (and failed) to pronounce it, the girl had just giggled and told him to call her PM. Karkat had rolled his eyes, cussed her out for embarrassing him and called her PM from that day forth. PM had a talent for running quickly and had an impressive work ethic. Back home, she always ran errands for her family as they owned a pathetic version of a post office. PM was always delivering letters and she loved going around the District and seeing all the inhabitants. The Hunger Games introduced her to a totally different culture that revealed the gaping difference in Districts.

Game Maker's Room

The head Game designer cackled gleefully as he watched all the tributes on his monitors while they trained. His assistant sighed resignedly and watched her boss go on one of his usual rampages. The designer swiveled around in his chair and grinned madly at his assistant.

"They're all going to die!" he crowed happily. The assistant rolled her eyes.

"Sir, you know the rules. One of them has to live."

The director's smile faded. "You mean I can't kill them all?" he asked, sounding like a kicked puppy.

"No, sir," the assistant replied, folding her arms.

"Oh, come on!"

"No, sir."

"But what if-?"

"No."

"Not even-?"

"No."

The director threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine. One of them can live."

The assistant nodded, happy she won that round. "Would you like to start designing the explosions, sir?" she asked, attempting to lift his spirits.

The director scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I do enjoy explosions, but I also like when they kill each other… Oh, well," he sighed. "I'll think about it more later. Why don't you begin designing the animals, Ms. Paint."

"Alright, Mr. Hussie."

**A/N: Hey! So recently I've been getting into Homestuck and there was this plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. Then this happened. So I'm sorry if any of them are OOC... I don't really bother to read some of the pester logs cuz they're SO LONG... but I kind of have an idea of their personalities. I just started Act 6 of Homestuck and I never read Mockingjay so...yeah. Sorry again if you think I screwed up on their personalities.**

**Also, I was running out of characters so I just threw some in like PM, WV, Cal and Doc Scratch (though I made him a girl). *sweatdrops* yeah...**

**So review please? Pretty please? Constructive criticism is appreciated, but please no outright flaming. It would be awesome if you reviewed! :D**


End file.
